Permanent Residency: What Is It Good For?

If you are a child of the 60’s you may remember the chorus to a song that asked the question containing the words “War – what is it good for?” The answer to that musical question was, “Absolutely Nuthin’!”

However when we ask, “Permanent residency – What is it good for?” we get a very positive answer that it is good and useful for a variety of reason.

What is Permanent Residency?

To understand what permanent residency is good for, please read our Second Citizenship Report. This is available for immediate download in the Members Area for all paid subscribers

On page 15 of the Second Citizenship Report—2015 Edition we find this:

RESIDENCE is something different again. Residence is where you live. However, different countries have different definitions in their national laws. Some people may have multiple residencies in different countries. For our purposes, residence might be seen as a stepping stone to full citizenship through naturalization.

‘Residence’ is also the right to live in a foreign country. You may or may not actually spend time there, but in some countries the fact that you hold a Resident’s ID card (like a Green Card in the US) means that you are officially a resident there.

Why is permanent residency of interest to us?

Residence is of interest to us for two reasons:

You might acquire tax benefits by moving to another country. Americans who move their residence to another country get many tax and privacy advantages (such as the Foreign Earned Income Exemption) over their fellow citizens who stay at home, even if they are still ultimately subject to tax on their worldwide income. Anyone who is not American, can legally opt out of their home country’s tax system simply by changing their residence.

Residency can be a path to citizenship. Most countries allow residents to apply for citizenship after a period of residence. This can vary from about 2-3 years (Dominican Republic and Singapore) up to 25 years (Liechtenstein or Andorra.)

Let’s use permanent residency in Paraguay as an example

Using the information above, what example could be cited to illustrate the benefits of permanent residency outside of your normal citizenship?

Paraguayan residence is a very attractive base for world travelers, particularly Brits and Europeans, Canadians and Aussies, that are seeking to travel the world in search of income while leaving behind their home country taxes. The second passport is really only important for Americans who are taxed on their worldwide income unless they renounce citizenship, or for those from countries like China or Russia who have problems traveling anywhere on their existing passports.

What is involved with applying for permanent residency in Paraguay?

Paraguay welcomes immigrants and offers Permanent Residency from the very beginning. The process takes some weeks to finalize, but only requires physical presence of the client for a few days. (There are exceptions to this if the applicants are from what Paraguay considers “sensitive countries.”)

After perhaps 6-8 weeks you will receive your permanent residency permit and your Paraguayan cédula (National ID card). If you are not in the country to pick these up, your lawyer can pick them up under a power of attorney and courier them to you. (Again, there are exceptions to this if the applicants are from what Paraguay considers “sensitive countries.”)

To some people, the most attractive part of this process is that your residence is classified as ‘Permanent’ from day one.

You don’t have to return to renew it if you don’t want to – ever!

It will never routinely be cancelled, although of course this is not citizenship and there are some provisions in law to cancel it if you are, for example, convicted of a crime.

This document is ideal for perpetual travelers who simply need a piece of paper issued by a government showing that they live somewhere. Different nationalities have different uses for Paraguay Permanent Residence.

What are some uses for the permanent residency from Paraguay?

For example, some western Europeans have to show their home governments a paper from a foreign government when they leave, so as to escape the tax nets in their country of origin.

Chinese citizens like to hold a foreign Permanent Residency because it allows their kids to get into China’s elite schools and universities that are reserved for ‘foreigners.’

Middle Eastern citizens find having residence in a South American country makes it much easier to get visas to travel elsewhere in the world.

Others, attracted by Brazil’s booming economy, see Paraguay as a back door, tax-free alternative to Brazilian immigration that is much more complicated and expensive.

Conclusion

We started with the question, “Permanent residency—what is it good for?” We’ve seen that there are many circumstances where permanent residency is a valid and useful option to have in your Perpetual Traveler toolbox.

We have recently completed the first of two new Q Wealth Reports on Paraguay, which you’ll find in the Members area. Existing members, please log in any time.

Good Article. Thanks a lot for sharing the information. My family and I are planning to apply for PR soon and I believe this article goes a long way in clarifying some of our doubts. Have contacted Barrister Matthew Jeffery for the procedure. Excited.

We are glad you liked the article. Thank you so much for leaving us a comment. I am going to send you an email right away with some information on how to get in touch with our recommendation for who we believe is best qualified to help you move forward with this procedure, so keep an eye out for that. Our man on the ground has over 21 years of experience in Paraguay!!

I am Pakistani national. I want Paraguay nationality. Please assist me for this . also please tell me about land at what price I can land in capital city and agricultural land in villages in Paraguay.
How Mich total money do I need for citizen ship without purchasing any land over there. Also please tell me the number of tours I have to make to Paraguay or time period to live over there as I am student so I have to complete my 80% attendance in my university.
I shall be thankful to you for an email assistance at [email protected]

Hi there this is Aruna from India chennai can u kindly help me by giving me the details of person to be contacted for getting permanent residency In paraguay my mail I’d is [email protected] thank u and regards

Hi Everybody,
I am an EU citizen with less than 35.000- USD capital,
and would like to move to Paraguay, and buy some land FAR from cities.. or be a business partner in Bio farming. Would be very thankful for any information how to start with it:::

Hi i am arham from Mumbai India i am very much interested in getting a PR in paraguay can you please send me the process details on my email [email protected] so i can start the process ASAP looking forward to hear from you thanks and have a great weekend

Very nice to meet you Arham! My name is Aubrey and I would be happy to help. I’ll start off by sending you an email with a few details, and options on how you can proceed. Thank you so much for taking the time to get in touch with us! Have a great weekend!

Thank you so much for your comment and I do sincerely apologize for the delay in getting back to you. Please let me send you an email with more information and options on how to proceed. Thank you again for your comment and have a wonderful rest of your weekend!

Hello
I am from Bangladesh. I wanted to apply for Paraguay permanent residence permit . Could you tell me how to apply for it and how much cost its gonna be?
Also how long is the processing time ?
Can I travel EU showing my permanent residence permit of Paraguay ? Am I gonna get any benefit from that ?
Please help me with your advice
Thank you